Ernie's Zero Waste Shop

19/08/2026

Ernie's will be opening on Sundays starting on August 30th 💚
The opening hours will be 10am-4pm.

This will be a trial for a few months to see how it goes but hopefully if it works out it will become a permanent thing.
We would love to see you pop by and if there is anyone who you think this might appeal to please share it with them and help spread the word.

Thank you as always 😀

19/08/2026

Figs are back in stock and don’t they look great! It’s almost a shame to take them out of the box but I for one would like to eat them!

17/08/2026

"I fell out of the habit of refilling."

"I just got so busy."

"I've been meaning to come in for ages."

Life happens (and boy, has a lot of life been happening, lately!).

But two local refill shops have closed already this year.

The first was Ecolnes Refillery Store in Earls Colne in spring, and the other was The Little Ginger Bee Company (pictured) in Hadleigh at the end of July.

I had the pleasure of meeting Toni, the owner of the latter, on her penultimate day of trading. Her shop was lovely, and while I was there she had so many people come in to share their condolences and well wishes.

But, alas, Toni wasn't getting enough regular custom, and with costs going up, she had no choice but to close.

I know of two other refill shops who teetered on the edge of closing recently. You may have seen that my other shop, Clear to Sea, nearly closed for good back in June.

It's hard having to encourage people who I know love the concept, the shop, the products, the team, to come in.

But, this isn't a warning that Unwrapped & Refill is in danger of closing.

It's a reminder to use us or lose us.

Our costs are higher than ever just now, too - and I want us to be thriving, not surviving.

That means we need more regular refillers. For former regulars to get back into the swing of it. And for those who have been admiring from afar to come and start shopping with us.

I know we aren't as convenient as going to the supermarket. But we are part of the community, we support local people, charities and suppliers, and we get to know you as a person, not just a customer. All while competing with the likes of Sains on price!

So come on down.

We are open, as ever, Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 12.30pm, 1pm to 5pm. You can find us at 715 Woodbridge Road, IP4 4NB.

Hope to see you soon, and I wish Toni and all the other refill shop owners past and present the very best of luck with whatever comes next ❤️

06/08/2026

The lovely folk at Choose2eco Ltd came by yesterday to drop off our delivery and to collect this mountain of empties!
They will then wash them out and refill them ready for the next customer making it a completely closed loop system 😀
Thanks to everyone that has refilled with us, this is a huge amount of empties which has saved hundreds of single use bottles going to landfill ❤️

03/08/2026

Hello,
We are looking at potentially opening on Sundays going forward but wanted to gauge interest in the idea before pushing forward with it.
If you have 2 minutes we would appreciate it if you could answer a few questions on the form below or let us know what you think in the comments.

Thank you :-)

We're looking at opening for a few hours on a Sunday but wanted to gauge interest before committing to anything. Please could you answer the questions below to help us see if it might work.

29/07/2026

* Update!
Applications have now closed. Thank you to everyone that applied. We will get back to some of you over the next couple of days. We received almost 80 applications so unfortunately won't be able to get back to all of you but thank you for applying.

Ernie's is hiring for a part time shop assistant role in our zero waste shop. Kiki is leaving for pastures new, so we are looking for someone to fill her boots and help push the shop forward.

The role is currently for 13 hours per week. The hours will be Fridays 11.30am - 5pm & Saturdays 9.45am - 5.15pm.

There might be scope to increase these hours in the future. We are a small team so flexibility to cover other days/times during holidays/staff illness is essential.

𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞:
* Serving customers and answering any queries they might have
* Re-stocking dispensers/jars etc. throughout the day
* Cleaning! Constantly ensuring the shop is clean and tidy, clearing up any spillages and washing up dispensers, scoops, funnels etc
* Deep cleaning of the shop and stock rooms.
* Checking in deliveries and putting them away in the correct places ensuring all deliveries are correct and are of satisfactory quality.
* Ensuring all paperwork/checks are completed accurately and on time.

More cleaning! And more washing up! Zero waste shops can be messy places so you must be willing and happy to spend a lot of time cleaning and washing dispensers and scoops etc.

𝐄𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬:
* You must be able to comfortably and safely lift and carry 25kg bags/tubs. Large deliveries can contain 15-20 of these bags so a good level of strength is essential.
* Must have experience of working in retail or a customer facing role.
* Flexibility to cover holidays and sickness.
* Must be able to work on your own and be able to multitask during busy periods.
* Have have an eye for detail

𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬/𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞
* Knowledge of zero waste shopping and plant based food.
* Food safety certificate.
* Experience of shopping at Ernie's
* Experience of posting to social media (Facebook, Instagram) and creating engaging content.

The pay is £13.45 an hour (We are a real living wage employer)
You will get paid breaks and a 20% staff discount.
The job cab be physically demanding, especially during busy periods and when large deliveries arrive so it's very important that you are able to comfortably lift 25kg sacks and be on your feet for hours at a time.

The job will officially start on the 28th August but ideally, we'd like to get you in before then to get you trained up and settled before you start properly.

If you are interested please send over your CV to [email protected] or drop one into the shop.

Thank you.

28/07/2026

Spudos are finally back in stock. Royal Mail sent our parcel half way around the world but it’s finally arrived!

To season your own crisps:
1. Pour crisps into the grease proof bags
2. Choose your flavour and add to the crisps
3. Shake well and enjoy!

We have 8 flavours to choose from:
• Prawn Cocktail (GF)
• Salt & Vinegar (GF)
• Chip Shop Curry
• Crispy Bacon
• Nduja & Vegan Honey
• Nooch & Onion
• Southern Fried Chicken (GF)
• Doner Kebab (GF)

All are vegan friendly and you can buy as many or as few as you like ❤️

27/07/2026

Nutritional Yeast!
It's one of our best selling products but lots of people have no idea what it is and how to use it.
Hopefully this post will explain it and tempt you to give it a try.

It is at least 35% cheaper to buy it from us vs the big supermarkets and health food stores.

If you have any other questions about it send us a message and let us know in the comments how you like to use nooch👍

18/07/2026

We’ve had a delivery of UpCircle products so we’re fully stocked up again.
We also now stock the hand and body lotion refill 👍 Just £4.15 per 100g.

11/07/2026

Hello,
Social media has never been our strong point but we're looking to utilise it more to help spread the word and attract potential new customers.

We would love your help to gauge what sort of content people would find most engaging?
We will always post general day to day stuff like new products etc but what else would you like to see?

* More in depth information about some of the lesser known foods we sell (beans, peas, grains etc) How to use and cook them, what dishes they go best in, nutritional benefits etc?
* An insight into the ever growing costs associated with running a small business? How they have changed and why so many small businesses are closing down?
* Simple Swaps - Comparing standard plastic household items like plastic dish sponges or liquid refills with our eco-friendly plastic free alternatives. Benefits, cost comparisons etc
* More information about our suppliers, who they are, where they're based, what they sell and why we use them?
* More price comparisons - Ernie's prices vs supermarket prices?

* Or anything else you can think of that you'd like to see.

Let us know and we'll try to aim our posts more to what people want to see.

Thanks as always for your help and support 💚